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| Toying with US trends bears results ( 18/11/2002 ) | |||||||||
The lucky break for Exquiss Gifts Limited came after Malcolm Alexander, president and founder of Alexander Global, called the company with an order for 35,000 "bobble-head" dolls. According to Mr Alexander, the enthusiasm of local companies to meet his specific requirements made negotiations a "pleasant business experience". "Everything came together in Hong Kong," he said from his home in Washington. Bobble-head dolls - costing cost about HK$31 (US$4) to produce - have become a cultural phenomenon in the US where they are usually handed out free to fans at sporting events. The dolls, which have a head that wobbles, are lifelike 7.5 inch miniature models of well-known sports stars and team players. Mr Alexander said the quality of the product - from the materials used to its hand-painted finish - had made the dolls collectible items. The Australian-born businessman said he had explored manufacturing opportunities in Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Mexico before spotting an ad from Exquiss Gifts in a Hong Kong Trade Development Council booklet. "They were able to create what I was looking for," he said. Last year Exquiss increased its manufacturing capacity by building a new factory, ABD Gifts, in the industrial heartland of Dongguan, southern China. The company, which used to produce items such as ornate picture frames, said demand for bobble-head dolls had been increasing with much of it from the US. On the back of the initial order from Mr Alexander, Exquiss now makes up to 700,000 dolls a month for the US market.
Having secured contracts to supply many of North America's sporting associations with bobble-head dolls, Alexander Global has turned its attention to Europe and is negotiating with football's English Premier League. It has already tapped into the entertainment market having won an exclusive contract to make Rolling Stones bobble-heads for the band's current world tour, and the licence for all Disney characters, plus their movies, for the next two years. Mr Alexander said he had visited Hong Kong about 28 times on business and had attended many trade fairs as a buyer at the Hong Kong Convention Exhibition Centre. He said his company would be exhibiting for the first time at the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair in January. Related links: | |||||||||
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